By Charles Scudder
6:30 AM January 3, 2021 CST
After months without much training, Joe Hoselton feared getting to his drink.
Behind the scenes in Winspear Opera House, Hoselton transformed into his level character, Jenna Skyy, for his live functionality from the beginning of the pandemic.
Jenna’s makeup (contoured cheekbones, arched eyebrows, purple lipstick) will bring her character to life on stage. After so long away from the spotlight, would this face be the same?
“I doubt myself, ” said Hoselton, applying more makeup thoroughly. “Suddenly, it’s like you’ve never ridden a bike. “
Jenna is a regular cast member at Oak Lawn’s Rose Room, considered the largest drag room in Dallas and the Southwest. There and in other gay bars and places in North Texas, drag artists often level up several times a week.
But by 2020, with the pandemic suspending all kinds of live performances, drag artists have had to find new tactics to stay afloat. Slowly, with clear plastic face protectors, Venmo tricks and virtual screens, drag returns to Dallas. It’s been a tough year for a lot of life-earning drag queens.
For the first time in October, and back in early December, the cast of Rose Room invited you to perform at the AT
“We want those local artists,” said Charles Santos, CEO of TITAS. “These other people make a living doing this, and it’s just a smart moment. “
The TITAS exhibition allowed Jenna and a handful of other local drag queens to perform in front of a concert and pay them to do so, but hanging out at the opera is not the same as hanging out at the club.
For many other LGBT people, gay bars, and especially drag displays, have been one of the few places where other people can feel comfortable. The loss of these safe spaces during the pandemic was particularly complicated for the LGBT community.
“We haven’t been to connect, ” said Jenna. ” It’s evident in everything. People haven’t been there to pass out and deal with the things that weigh on them. “
Dragging in Dallas is a big problem. The city has some of the biggest places in the domain and Dallas drag queens do wonderful things in the world of drag. Dallas Drag Families, teams of artists who cheer on each other and percentage level names, produce nationally recognized skills such as Mesquite’s Alyssa Edwards and Grand Prairie’s Asia O’Hara.
Thus, while the drag stopped suddenly in March, the pandemic was mainly affected by local artists.
For our LGBTQ neighbors, we’ll do better. #Redfields